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After a reasonably smooth start to the transfer window, at least by their own standards, Manchester United are now falling into their usual pattern of chaos.
The Red Devils have brought in goalkeeper Andre Onana, midfielder Mason Mount and forward Rasmus Hojlund, and have offloaded defender Alex Telles, midfielder Fred and forward Anthony Elanga.
But what remains is a quagmire.
Manager Erik ten Hag is desperate to strengthen again in all three areas of the pitch and still has players to offload in all three.
A cut-price deal for Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat looks set to fall by the wayside as weeks of dithering have allowed Liverpool to step in, with no resolution in sight.
Player keen, terms agreed, but United just want to ensure another sale first, the reports have said.
And the same appears to be true of Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard.
Player keen, terms agreed, but United must sell Harry Maguire first.
But Maguire is not playing ball and is quibbling over a payoff – understandably, since he is being pushed out of the club and expected to take a £70,000 per week drop in salary to do so.
And now, as with Liverpool and Amrabat, United have left the door open for Inter Milan to come swooping in for Pavard, again, at a very attractive price.
As reported here yesterday, Inter have had a bid rejected. It was reported then that the Serie A Side would only be willing to go as high as €30 million and that Bayern would rather keep Pavard for another year than let him go for anything less than €40 million.
However, today’s paper editions in Italy paint a very different picture.
According to Corriere dello Sport (page 9):
“An offer [from Inter] to the Bavarian club of 25 million euros was immediately delivered, including bonuses and with an operation formula to be agreed. The Germans… demand more than 30. In short, the distances are not huge.”
And Gazzetta dello Sport (page 8):
“An official proposal for the French defender to Bayern Munich was sent [by Inter] by email yesterday: 20 million plus easy bonuses that bring the figure to 25 for a central player with extensive experience and guarantees, but still expiring in 2024.
“The Bavarians would like 30, to be brought to 35 with bonuses: the distance is evident and there is little possibility for Inter to increase their offer.
“But there is also a powerful leverage, the Frenchman’s desire to leave the Bundesliga and start again at a decisive moment for his career.”
One thing that stands out from this is that both this and earlier reports claiming United had had a bid of €30 million rejected are unlikely to both be true.
It is unfathomable as to why United would allow Inter to waltz in and claim a world class defender, capable of playing at the top level at both centre back and right back, for a fee of around £26 million.
Are they really so pedantic that they are going to lose him just because the Maguire issue has not yet been resolved?
Likewise, are they willing to lose Amrabat at a similar price, simply because Donny van de Beek or Scott McTominay have not yet been sold?
If, as has been reported, Erik ten Hag really wants Maguire out of the club, then bringing Pavard in would presumably go a long way to pushing him out. It would make Maguire sixth choice at centre back rather than fifth, and surely put paid to his claims of wanting to fight for his place.
But if, as is being played out in the media, the Frenchman can only come if the Englishman goes, it strengthens the latter’s position and allows him to control how the rest of United’s transfer window plays out. Meanwhile, both Inter and Arsenal are moving in, fast.
